5 th GEO European Projects’ Workshop (GEPW-5)

London, 8-9 February 2011

How to contribute to GEO DATA CORE

Most of the EC FP6 & FP7 carbon-climate-related projects born in the “GEO era” (e.g. CarboAfrica, COCOS, ICOS, ClimAfrica, etc.) have already been conceived to contribute to GEO.

Their data policy is to provide open access and free use of data (after registration and under request), with a minimum time delay.

They naturally comply with most of the GEO Data Sharing Principles and can contribute to the GEO Data Core, but… how in practice?

Better and clearer concrete connections should be established.

5 th GEO European Projects’ Workshop (GEPW-5)

London, 8-9 February 2011

How to contribute to GEO DATA CORE

Some “Carbon” examples

• providing data: e.g. the carbon database of many EC FP6 and FP7 projects (CarboEurope, CarboAfrica, CarboItaly, IMECC, CIRCE; linked to FluxNet) is managed by University of Tuscia ( http://gaia.agraria.unitus.it/database ) with open access.

• promoting interoperability of the different monitoring systems: harmonization (in the short term) and standardization (in the longer term) of measured data (e.g. ICOS, COCOS).

• promoting the interoperability of different databases: adoption of international standards (not only for measuring protocols) for data presentation, for metadata and data set identification.

• promoting the involvement of users and stakeholders (as requested in the GEOSS Data Sharing Action Plan). COCOS and ICOS: strong involvement of users and stakeholders.

5 th GEO European Projects’ Workshop (GEPW-5)

London, 8-9 February 2011

How to contribute to GEO DATA CORE

Carbon Portals

• There are several efforts. COCOS and ICOS are developing carbon portals, and this shall be done in close communication with GEO in order to link them to the GEO Portal.

• Need for increasing practical and effective relationships between tasks and the GEO Portal in order to enhance electronic data sharing and distribution.

Question: better to provide data or metadata?

Provision of metadata avoids complicated harmonization of access and usage rights but leaves the data user with a potentially unmanageable number of data policies from the different databases.

5 th GEO European Projects’ Workshop (GEPW-5)

London, 8-9 February 2011

GEO and GMES for carbon: the EUGIS proposal

GMES is segmented into core services that deal with separate data streams, atmospheric concentrations (MACC), land surface biophysical state (GEOLAND2) and ocean biological state as seen from space (MYOCEAN). An integrated analysis of the GHG fluxes and carbon pools is not offered in any existing or proposed service. All the above data stream should be assimilated by a EUropean Greenhouse gases Information System (EUGIS) within the GMES programme, as a European contribution to GEO.